But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed — the Pharisees express contempt for the crowd ('this people') as ignorant of the Law and therefore cursed (accursed, arara). The elitism is stark: only the educated, certified interpreters (Pharisees) are not cursed; the common people, who know not the Law through formal study, are outside God's covenant. This attitude is precisely what Jesus has challenged: that knowledge of God depends on institutional credentials rather than faith and willingness to do God's will (7:17). The curse the Pharisees pronounce becomes ironic judgment on themselves.

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